CHAMPS Gets Ready For Their Summer Show In Las Vegas

Posted on July 3, 2019

CHAMPS Las Vegas runs this July 16th – 18th at the LV Convention Center

In the movie Bugsy, Warren Beatty plays Bugsy Siegel, the mobster credited with “inventing” Las Vegas. While standing in the barren desert circa 1945, a thunderbolt of an idea hits him. Beatty gushes: “We are gonna build a Garden of Eden in the desert! A hotel! But not a hotel! You know what it is? It’s an oasis. It’s an oasis with a casino. It’s legal, it’s Nevada. We’re gonna have palm trees and pools, we’ll have rose gardens more beautiful than Versailles, and we’re gonna design them all ourselves!”

Much to his Bugsy’s chagrin, he never got a chance to see what Vegas became. What Las Vegas did become is a thriving hub for fun, relaxation, entertainment and ever-expanding business networking. In fact, there are approximately 20,000 business conventions each year in the city, while the convention industry itself accounts for 15.7 percent of the annual visitors to Las Vegas.

CHAMPS Trade Shows has been on the Vegas scene since 1998 and is now a mainstay at the Las Vegas Convention Center. On July 16^th – 18^th, CHAMPS will stage its massive summer trade show featuring over 900 vendors comprising every sector of the cannabis industry.

This will be the 57^th trade show that CHAMPS has mounted in its 20-year history. CHAMPS’ roots are in Las Vegas. It all started here back in 1999 as a small B2B venue for the fledgling glass pipe industry. While glass smokeware, in all its forms, remains a major draw for cannabis industry retailers at CHAMPS, the convention floor is now populated with CBD products, a range of smoke shop merchandise, companies offering financial services and a whole new division of CHAMPS devoted to fulfilling the direct needs of dispensaries. It’s called Dispensary+.

Right now, eleven states, plus Washington D.C, have legalized recreational marijuana. Thirteen states have decriminalized, but not legalized and altogether, thirty-three have legalized medicinal use. As this wave of legalization continues to sweep the nation, CHAMPS is striving to address and serve the growing needs of the medical and recreational retail cannabis industry while still giving a world class experience to the rest of the counter culture industry.

CHAMPS Dispensary+ Director Hap Kent, is sensitive to the hectic atmosphere that characterizes dispensary management. “The time of dispensary owners and managers is very limited,” he explains. “They’re preoccupied with daily operations, which includes bookkeeping, inventory, addressing the concerns of customers and handling the staff. They’re not able to fully comprehend the sales pitches and products of vendors who visit their stores. They’ll take a card or ask vendors to email them their offer, or call at a later date, but that’s where the interaction often ends.”

At CHAMPS, dispensary owners can meet vendors and business people that can help them realize their dreams of maximum efficiency, conducted in a friendly, non-rushed setting.

Also heavily represented at CHAMPS is the vaping industry. Forbes reported that the sales of concentrates reached approximately $3 billion last year and forecasts, that by 2022, they’ll exceed $8.4 billion, which nearly matches the projection of flower sales. You’ll find a slew of vaping technology on display at this show.

Two industry leading lectures will be presented on Wednesday, July 17^th. helping attendee’s in their various industries. At 1 pm, Deanna Clark-Esposito will provide a comprehensive lecture titled “FDA Obligations for Retailers, Manufacturers & Importers.” Ms. Clark-Esposito is the founder of the Clark-Esposito Law Firm, P.C. with over 15 years of legal experience in the areas of international trade (imports/exports), transportation, maritime and administrative law in the areas of fashion, vape/tobacco, hemp and others. You can watch her lecture titled “Navigating The Vape Industry: FDA Compliance for Importers, Manufacturers, & Retailers” from our CHAMPS Atlantic City show on the CHAMPS YouTube Channel, or you can read her interview by clicking here.

At 3pm, Natalie Darves, dean of faculty at Oaksterdam University, will present “CBD: The Science, the Trends, & Current Regulatory Landscape.” Ms. Darves has worked alongside numerous cultivation groups on policy reform and best-practice farming models. She is also skilled in brand positioning, corporate strategy, corporate financial statements, business plan development, operations and organizational design.

Of course, no CHAMPS events would be complete without the Glass Games. The Vegas Games will the second “preliminary” event of the year, all leading to the penultimate event, the Masters, held in February 2020, wherein the winners and medalists of 2019 CHAMPS events square off in a stellar competition of top artists.

But this Glass Games, in particular, promises to be one for the books! Over 50 artists will light their torches and create their magic in front of CHAMPS attendees. Artists will compete in eight different categories, all with specific requirements in design and concept. If you’ve never witnessed the live creation of smokeware, you have something to add to your bucket list!

As always, CHAMPS is B2B event and not open to the general public. This is an event designed for cannabis industry retailers, so they take can advantage of the ever-expanding marketplace and stock their shelves with the latest, most innovative merchandise. Admission is free to qualified buyers.

As we celebrate our 20^th year, CHAMPS continues to maintain its status as the premier showcase for cannabis industry products. There’s a reason that CHAMPS Trade Shows stands as the most comprehensive B2B trade show in the cannabis industry.

Join us this summer and make 2019 your best fiscal year yet!

July 16th – 18th at the Las Vegas Convention Center